Show washington DIGEST ID GEST gesto o uy BY ey WILLIAM BRUCKART 1311 NATIONAL PRESS BLOB SLOG washington 01 washington A friend of mine a minor official ot of the government re marked to me the the african other day that he war could find very little cause for excitement in his own mind about the hostilities between italy and ethiopia the fight light log ing la Is so far away he said and the nations involved are of such crapara tive insignificance in the whole world structure that he found no reason at all to do more than read the black faced headlines about the trouble as they appeared from day to day in the great metropolitan newspapers we were at the time wending a rather slow way around the golf links of the congressional country club the course Is get in the midst of fine farm ing country and my friend used the situation as a basis for his ariment aru ment trat there was little reason for any of as us to take the italian ethiopian tron ble seriously how flow can it make very much dif ference to us he asked with a wave of his big hand toward the fine farms and splendid homes within when we have a nation so admirably supplied W with t b re resources 5 burces of which those are typical I 1 we can live even it if the trouble broadens it if necessary we can close our shores to foreigners and keep out of the trouble unwittingly my friend supplied a text in fact he supplied two of them the man in question Is able has a good brain and Is doing bis his job satis fact facto orlly rily but it Is his first connection with the government in an official ca pacify he has not had training here tolore that fits him or equips him to deal with broad international question in time his views will change of that I 1 have no doubt but the fact remains that his attitude on the ital lan ian on marks him as one of countless hundreds of govern ment officials als past and present who sho are brou brought ht in and given responsible posts without regard to their under standing of all of the problems chic they must meet the other test text which my friend friends conversation suggested Is to what inter eat do we have in the african war warl most individuals will a agree gr ee that at the tle moment we are in no danger and that immediately there Is no prospect of any kind of trouble insofar as the united states Is concerned but it Is not the immediate prospect that we must consider it Is not the immediate prospect that caused secretary hull of the state department it to declare and to reiterate that the objective of present american policies Is to keep this coun try out of war that was the reason congress enacted the so called neutral it resolution and that was the reason president roosevelt placed an embargo against the shipment of arms and mu of war to the present bellig belli arents again it is not the present but where we go from here that con cerns us 0 Is 0 undoubtedly congress did a lar thing when it adopted the resola tion designed to pre europe a vent development of powder keg circumstances which aich may place us on the verge of the cataclysm I 1 say the ac tion was popular because there ha hac been no indication from any important quarter except from trader traders whose business tu siness has been handicapped against the official policy polley enacted in that res Ol utiOn but the end I 1 Is not yet in the firs first instance all of I 1 europe Is virtually a powder keg potential dynamite lies in the differences between Ilus flus slant and japanese their frontier can be the scene of the fated overt act at any moment and while the hope Is to for settlement of all differences between the japanese and the russians in a peaceful manner there Is no assur ance that these can be so settled since the italian d elator mussolini lint brazenly announced that be he wanted more territory for his people and pro posed to get it at the expense of the black men in tension between areat britain and italy has increased from day to day backing and filling between the british and the french have been the regular order because the british and the trench french have corn parable interests in africa further a strengthened italy means a menace of a continuing character to her neigh bor france the british have scores of battle boats in the mediterranean sea those ship ships are at anchor from which they can be called into quick use the brit asli say the fleet Is maintained there merely as a precaution MuS knows better he ile knows and every one else wilt will disco discover di scovel vei after even A e superficial examination of the itu lion that he british will brok bro k n moree moves by taly italy that threaten british of the analo anlo l k yi tian budar nor will the british permit to gain 1 contro of such I 1 ter ettory as will Joi arllie their suler vision islon oer berrit ry walh ite tealer waters sot ot tip I 1 lue nile ml hi it lbert 1 asters are ps eq i bial I 1 the so it hikes takes no sareth of tte tie in lit a atlon to i f it 11 I 1 IP it at ei nil rill cl el let t ic le 11 1 1 lift i t 1 i ft t a 1 it 11 b tib b t r r i i i r i 1 rt I 1 I 1 I 1 i it tn of ot t h it 11 s ta things comes war will cause trouble if by any chance one ot of those inci inel dents comes the british and the ital hat lans will be at each others throats next should that break develop even everl nation in europe Is compelled tor for one reason or another to align itself wit will one side or the olli oth hitler littler for ex ample would n ant notting noti ing better thai that an opportunity to stir up borne some among the other nations in order tha he could spread bis his power over aue aug tria and hungary and maybe over some of the balkan states he ile banu more territory and if a free for all should get started herr hitler littler will lose no time in subjugating some of the neighboring countries 0 0 a even if these conditions obtain ma m mends friends statement that the war Is a long way off still etl would w hit ie Is correct it would oar our commerce be three or four thousand miles from front american shores but the point of dif ference Is that we are a con commercial mercial nation and I 1 the european powder ke explodes our commerce would be at af fectea indeed it would be virtually destroyed but it will be asked why not live within our own shell the answer Is we cannot do so our ships currying carrying the products of our farms and facto ries would be plying the sea seas na tlona at war do not take the time al at ways to lean the character of cargo carge aboard a ship at sea nor do they in quire its destination or the purport for which it Is to to be used then we hear bear of the overt act an american ship with an ame A me lean crew and ar gr american cargo Is sunk or ameri amerl can owned and manned business unit in some one of the belligerent coun tr trea eg suffers from one of the barlou things that takes place during the war it may be the act at of some hot heade I 1 nasonal or it may be a dellb erate move by a government but the die Is cast an american bitzen Is killed an american flag Is insulted we are in it it seems to me therefore that wt w have every reason to watch closel those developments abroad our own people are not blameless for gome some of tie conditions that develop for in stance the following day after mr air roosevelt issued his proclamation pro hi biting exports of arms and muni eions and by inference prohibiting dealings of any kind with aitay itay in and I 1 new york exporters rose with a mighty howl hol and the port de authority in new york pro tested one group saw san all op ties for profitable business stricken out by the prohibition against exports and the other with proper civic pride complained that the executive antior would wre k new york city as a it marl time center their complaints were wert natural quite human but their to accept the national policy simply represents one of the many things con sti an early step that may sub be one of the foundation stones of war I 1 do not mean to say in a hese col limns that we should become a peace al at any price nation oi OL the contrary I 1 think that Is a cowardly position tor for any nation to take IN tat I 1 do emeha size however hoever Is that if it we are to have ar at international policy we should ad here to it IL now let ns us consider the govern mental problem I 1 said earlier that con confess ress undoubted neutrality had bad acted in accord edict ace ance with the view viea of a majority of our people president Roos roosevelt eielt has chosen to accept the neutrality resolution as i mandate from which give him almost no disi ebion his ills arm bargo his shipping and his warning to american citizens that I 1 they travel on boats belonging to the bell belligerent lerent powers they do so at their own risks was has the narrowest coni construe true tion poc possible sible ble to hare have been placed on the neutral lt edict of congress congress it not 13 i session and will not be bak here agair until january fhe ille presidents bands hands are tie tiel I 1 onles he decides to call congress into extra session and that thal of course will inot noi be done un em sudden flames flame 8 of war sweep over the whole world A orld I 1 be here fore if it mr roosevelt clings to the polio which he has adopted in narrowly con the neutrality until the congressional session opens in january congress ran can do no more than commend him tor for following its dictates hut but if any of the conditions abed led above should place the american neutrality rosi position tion where a test roust be had congress must accey the blame so ar at long as a mr roosevelt Boo sevelt follows his present course and throw himself completely on oil the lav ISM the tres I 1 resident ident can mays maje short an answer anwer to those who would enlist thi this country n international action that position f course has u its weaknesses because something ma mn develop overnight with aich he cannot deal an I 1 riller I 1 lie le in 1 hut hilt on the of bolher her hand th act that he can ean d little without call ng P i 1 h hi i ic k erta I 1 n ty kovl ro I 1 les h lin oil perio I 1 d ring khith th he I 1 kl its s f r a i lit 11 may cr baill t 5 i n Vow luton |